Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Cheddar & Greek Yogurt

I’ve long wanted to make a
homemade tomato basil soup. But until
this year, my gardening skills were, well…lacking.

But this year, my latent
gardening talent finally showed itself.
That or the hot weather made it nearly impossible to fail. Whichever.

My potted tomato plants were
abundant enough for some fresh salsa (watch for that coming up) and my basil
flourished and it was finally time to make some tomato soup!

I ended up choosing this
recipe because of the Greek yogurt. My
main beef with tomato soups is the lack of substance, which is perhaps why it
pairs so well with a grilled cheese sandwich.
In this case, I wanted a filling, stand alone tomato soup and I knew that
the protein from the Greek yogurt would instantly elevate the tomato soup from
lowly side dish to satisfying main dish.

Overall, this made a beautifully
smooth, silky soup. I roasted a few
extra tomatoes and froze them with basil, so I can enjoy this soup into the
cold (tomato-less) winter months!

Place the tomatoes onto a
baking sheet and drizzle with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes in the preheated oven and
allow them to roast, slowly for 60-90 minutes, or until they are beginning to brown
on the edges. Remove from the oven and
set aside.

Heat the remaining ½
tablespoon of olive oil in a soup pot.
Add the onions and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Add the minced garlic and sauté for another
minute, or until fragrant.

Add the chicken stock, diced
tomatoes, fresh basil, rosemary, and roasted tomatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook over
medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Remove the soup from the
burner. Then, use an immersion blender
to puree the soup (alternately, very carefully puree the hot soup in a
blender).

Stir in the cheddar cheese,
returning to the heat to melt if necessary.
Serve the soup in bowls topped with 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt (and
mozzarella balls).

This looks amazing! I love tomato soup, but like you I always pair it with something. Have at least 4 ripe tomatoes on the counter, hopefully there will be another on the vine when I home so I can try this soon!

Haha, perfect! We have a bunch of basil and I was just saying I had to make some tomato soup so that I could try out your mozzarella balls, so this is great! Thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!

YUM! This caught my eye right away at the Super Link Party! I'm your newest follower, and I'd like to invite you to the Sweet Saturday hop: http://jessica-healthymommyhealthybaby.blogspot.com/2012/09/sweet-saturday-20-quinoa-smoothie.html. I hope to see you there, have a nice weekend :)